Life Lessons Of Dhruv And Vishnu’s Blessings

Once upon a time, there was a king named Uttanpad. He had two wives, Suniti (wisdom) and Suruchi (beauty) but he loved the later more. From both wives, he had a son each and only naturally, he loved the son from his favorite wife Suruchi more.

One morning, the son from the second wife Suniti, called Dhruv saw his brother playing in the lap of the king and he too desired the same. His step mother however chided him and drove him away. Dhruv was only five year old.

He narrated the story to his own mother. His mother told him that he should instead aspire to be in the lap of Lord Vishnu who is all powerful and rules the universe. Dhruv took the advice and headed straight to the forest for penance to attain his desire to be in God’s lap.

In the forest Sage Narad accosted him and knowing the resolve of Dhruv to appease Lord Vishnu, he taught him a very difficult regime of worship to test his resolve. Dhruv followed the method for over five months and finally the Lord appeared before him. Lord Vishnu asked him to seek anything, any attainment which he thought of. Dhruv meekly said to him that he was just a child and asked Lord Vishnu to give him the power of words so that he could sing hymns in his praise.

Little Dhruv even forgot to ask for what he had done all this impossible penance. Lord Vishnu gave him what he wished and also bestowed him the pole position which no man has ever got. He was positioned as star above the universe and Lord Vishnu blessed him that the universe might someday end but he would still sign as the star.

What is the moral of the story? The story has so many of them. The king is supposed to be the repository of wisdom but this king had his priorities wrong. He preferred Suruchi over Suniti; it suggests he indulged in beauties and comfort of life neglecting the high and ideal principles of wisdom. The king is the symbol of justice, which presupposes unbiased disposition. The king however showed bias against the son of his less favored wife.

The mother of Dhruv was wisdom personified and she showed her son what wisdom always does for humanity. Wisdom guides humanity to value love and compassion over material gains. She prodded her son to aim for the love and compassion of the highest order; that of the almighty.

Dhruv was only five years old when he understood the wisdom and headed for it. This suggests; wisdom is such a simple thing; it is such an amenable reality that even a child can understand it. This also otherwise suggests; childlike innocence and trust and right guidance can make people help attain the ultimate achievements.

Then, the story reflects the reality that when you attain wisdom, you do not want any other indulgence but the infinity of the wisdom itself. Dhruv did not seek anything from Lord Vishnu but the almighty himself. And the last thing is the compassion of the almighty. The Lord gives you something, which you do not demand. Almighty is so compassionate and magnanimous that he bestows on you the supreme position.

This simply means, endowments of life, if they are true and real, comes to you naturally and compassionately, if you have your consciousness, accepting the utility of it. As Vishnu says, “one gets what he seeks from me’. So, the compassion of the giver is always there, all one gets is what he or she seeks…